Envelope assemblies



Sept. 20, 1966 v. v. PORTER ENVELOPE ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1963 I NVENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 20, 1966 v. v. PORTER ENVELOPE ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May a, 1963 I/ 3 Z Z k w a 6 INVENTOR a l My fioo/oooo/ooooooo/oooooo I \I m d 6 pm U n I d 6 n H a a H u G //L oooooooni fl wax? BY 7km 61%,, F

ATTORNEYE United States Patent O 3,273,784 ENVELOPE ASSEMBLIES Virgil V. Porter, Richmond, Calih, assignor to Moore Business Forms, Inc., Niagara Falls, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 8, 1963, Ser. No. 278,834 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-69) This invention relates to envelopes or similar articles of stationery as for the enclosure of letters or other matter for mailing. More particularly, the invention relates to envelopes connected in sequence for continuous passage through a typewriter or other business machine for imprinting indicia, such as addresses or the like, on the faces of successive envelope units.

The general objects of the invention comprise the provision of a continuous train of envelopes secured in novel and improved fashion to a carrier strip or web for effecting the advancing of the envelope successively through such a machine, and the provision of a novel method of assembling such stationery products.

Involved in the purposes and aims of the invention are the utilization of complete envelopes of the conventional sizes and shapes now in use and with a minimum of gluing areas which might be exposed to view when the envelopes are eventually detached from the carrier and fileld and sealed for mailing.

In fact, in one embodiment of the invention, a very slight modification is made in the size of the flap of the envelope, and in this way all traces of the gluing spots are concealed when the flap is closed.

In a further embodiment of the inventive concept, the rearward side or back panel of the envelope is extended slightly upwardly so as to underlie the points where the glue spots on the flap portion of the envelopes would impinge when the flap is closed, and this ensures, in desired instances, that the glue spot will not contact the contents of the envelope.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through an addressing machine of generic character through which a continuous strip of envelope forms is passing;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of one form of envelope train and carrier-web embodying the principles of the invention;

FIGURES 3 is a view in longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view in rear elevation of an envelope unit detached [from the carrier-web or strip and before the flap is sealed;

FIGURE 5 is a similar view with the flap sealed;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view somewhat similar to FIGURE 2 and illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating this second embodiment;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 showing the second embodiment of envelopes; and

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURES 4 and 7 showing still another embodiment of envelope to which the principles of the invention have been applied.

Numerous proposals have been made for joining envelopes in sequence so that they may be run through an addressing machine or similar imprinting device with facility and even automatically without requiring the attendance of an operator. These have involved the use 'ice of multiple carrier strips and also of means for securing successive envelopes to each other, but they have been subject to certain drawbacks and deficiencies which it is :believed the present concept has overcome. One of these is involved in the matter of minimizing the spots of adhesive which are ultimately exposed on the surf-aces of the envelopes.

The first illustrated embodiment of the invention is shown in perspective in FIGURE 2 of the drawings and the assembly which goes to make up the train of envelopes for passage through a writing machine is designated by the general reference character 10.

In FIGURE 1 of the drawings, this assembly is shown passing through a nondescript writing machine 12 which typifies any suitable machine having a platen 13 or similar surface against which the train of envelopes may be pressed for imprinting by the usual mechanism carried by the machine 12.

The assembly comprises the single backing strip or web 15 which is of slightly greater width than the envelopes 16 which are to be attached thereto, leaving sufficient side margins for the feed holes 17 by means of which the device may be fed through the machine 12 by the usual pin feed devices involving the pins 18 associated with the platen 13 as suggested in FIGURE 1.

The envelopes 16 are applied to one face of the carrier web 15 with the opened flap and the backs of the envelopes facing the web and the fronts of the envelopes facing outwardly for receiving the impressions.

Applied to the face of the carrier web or strip 15 is a double series of small spots or dots of adhesive, either of ordinary glue or any well-known type of pressure sensitive adhesive. The adherent properties of the adhesive material should be only that necessary to transport the envelopes during their processing through a machine, but readily severable when the envelopes are separated from the carrier web for filling and sealing. Obviously, it is of no particular moment it the adhesive is such as to cause a slight amount of the material of the web to be removed along with the adhesive spot when the envelopes are separated from the web, although some of the provisions of the present invention are aimed to cover up the resulting glue spots either wholly or partially when the envelope is finally sealed.

These glue spots are designated in FIGURES 2, 4 and 5 as a-a, b-b, c-c, ee, etc., the successive spots in each row being spaced an equal distance apart, which of course facilitates a standardized application of the glue spots to the carrier strips 15.

It will be noted that the envelopes are so arranged upon the carrier strip that the faces of the envelopes designated 20 are arranged in contiguous order with the flaps 21 underlying the body portions of the preceding envelope in the series.

The backs of the envelopes are designated by the reference numeral 23 and comprise the usual somewhat triangular flap portions 24, 25 and 26. The main sealing flap 21 of the envelope is provided with the usual gummed edge which of course is folded down upon the upper portions of the back 23 of the envelope when it is to be sealed.

Now the spacing of the successive spots a-a, b--b, cc, d-d, etc. is such that the spots aa occur near the lower margin of the envelope flap 21 between the gummed portion 30 and the crease line 32. The next pair of spots bb then occurs just below the upper portion of the back 23 of the envelope. Further, the next spots c-c underlie the flap of the succeeding envelope and would occur with relation to the instant envelope as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, the spots c-c of course adhering to the flap of the succeed- 3 ing envelope rather than to the bottom portion of the instant envelope.

With this arrangement, when the flap 21 of the envelope is folded down and sealed, the appearance will be as suggested in FIGURE 5 of the drawings with only the glue spots bb exposed. The spots aa will of course, when the flap 21 is folded down, he opposite the dotted line positions a"a as suggested in FIGURE 4.

Preferably the carrier web 15 is creased as at 35 for zigzag folding and each fold area 36 of the web is arranged to carry two envelopes. Thus the train of envelopes can be stacked both before and after passing through the addressing or imprinting machine, in zigzag folded packs.

In the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 the envelopes are indicated at 16 and are adhered to the carrier web 15'. The distribution of the spots of adhesive is equal :as in the previous embodiment and these spots are designated a-a, b'-b,

c'c', etc., the spots a'a and bb serving to secure one envelope, and the spots c'c' and d-d' securing the next succeeding envelope. The difference between this embodiment and the one previously described lies in the fact that the flaps 21' in this case are longer than the flaps 21 in the earlier described embodiment so that when they are folded down upon the backs 23 of the envelope the flaps 21' will cover the glue spots b'-b', as clearly shown in FIGURE 8 of the drawings. This of course precludes any glue spots showing on the envelope when it is finely folded for mailing since the splots b'b shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 8 are completely covered by the flaps 21'.

A further refinement of the invention which may be desirable in some cases is suggested in FIGURE 9 of the drawings. The spots of adhesive are equally spaced along a carrier web as in the previous embodiments, but this is not shown in this figure. The diiference here resides in the fact in the case of the envelope 16" having flaps 21", the backs 23" of the envelopes are extended upwardly slightly so that their uppermost edge 40 approaches the position of the flap crease 42 and underlies the points where the adhesive spots a"a" would impinge when the fiap 21" is folded down. This arrangement ensures that not only are the secondary spots b"b" covered by the flap 21", but the upper portion of the back 23" of the envelope prevents the adhesive from the spots a"a" from impinging against the contents of the envelope.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a simple and economical means for passing a series of envelopes through an addressing machine with a minimum of adhesive employed, and with provisions for further minimizing the showing of the adhesive spots when the envelopes are eventually closed and sealed.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as determined by the subjoined claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A continuous train of envelopes for passage through a business machine for imprinting prior to sealing the envelopes, each envelope unit comprising solely a completed envelope having front and back panels connected along three adjoining side edges, and a sealing flap hingedly connected along the fourth edge of said front panel and adapted to lie during travel of the web substantially in the plane of said front panel, but in use to be folded along the hinge line to overlap an upper portion of the back panel to be secured thereto; a flexible carrier web to which successive envelope units are temporarily secured, and means for securing each envelope unit to said web with a portion of the back panel and the inward side of the flap alongside and in contact with a face of said web and the remainder of the back panel overlying the flap of the succeeding envelope; said securing means comprising a series of dots of adhesive occurring at intervals along said face of the Web and alternately uniting points on the said inward side of the flaps of the envelope and points on the back panel wherein the dots on the flaps are near the hinge and the back panel extends toward and substantially adjacent to the hinge lines sufiiciently to underlie the points of impingement of the dots of adhesive on the inner face of the flaps to prevent contact of these dots with the contents of the envelope.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,615 1/1938 Bear et a1 229-69 2,723,077 11/1955 Whitman 22969 2,824,686 2/ 1958 Hamilton 22969 3,111,258 11/1963 Perlstein 22992.3

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,231,479 4/1960 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, GEORGE O. RALSTON,

DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Examiners. 

